The present invention relates to a carousel-type distribution unit for handling and planting vegetable species.
It is known that currently there is a demand for devices for agricultural use capable of facilitating the transplanting of new plants, such as for example tomato plants.
In particular, devices are known having a carousel in which the plants to be planted are placed manually. The carousel is provided with mechanisms which periodically expel a plant from the carousel and convey it, within a guiding channel, to the furrow produced by an appropriate plowshare which cuts through the soil below said channel. In this manner it is possible to plant rows of new plants simply by loading the carousel of the distribution unit.
Although these devices considerably facilitate transplanting, there is still the limitation of having to use an operator assigned to refilling the distribution unit in order to deposit a single row of plants at each pass over the field.
The aim of the present invention is to obviate the above-mentioned shortcomings of known devices, by providing a carousel-type distribution unit for handling and planting vegetable species, which is capable of planting simultaneously two adjacent rows of plants arranged at a mutual presettable distance and staggered quincuncially, managed by a single operator for two rows of plants.
Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a structure which is simple and sturdy, relatively easy to provide in practice, and can be handled by a single operator.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a structure which is safe in use, effective in operation and relatively low in cost.
This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by the present carousel-type distribution unit for handling and planting vegetable species, provided with a carousel containing a plurality of conical cups, each whereof is composed of two half-cones which are articulated about substantially horizontal axes, the cups being suitable to contain the vegetable species and to open in order to plant them, characterized in that it comprises two arms which are fixed to the center of said carousel and are adapted to open two of said cups in order to release the plant species into two respective conveyance channels for guiding into respective internal chambers of respective hollow plowshares, from which the plant species are expelled by respective ejector feet into the furrows of the soil provided by said plowshares and arranged along two mutually staggered adjacent rows.